We had so much rain this summer that we didn't get a chance to do a lot of the things we usually do during the summer (like the beach). Thankfully the rain paused long enough to give us a lovely afternoon at Rocks with friends!
Minus the part where Elise stepped on a bee (she refused to keep her shoes on) and would only be comforted by Bente (she kept shoving me away when I tried to take her from Bente), we had a blast!
Luke and Elise.
These two spent most of their time trying to escape down the creek on boogie boards together. The water was deep and fast enough that I really had to keep an eye on them to prevent drownings. Two little troublemakers!
Seth and the other big boys spent all their time jumping off this rock. The water was so fast that they had to start swimming about 30 feet up the creek in order to get across in time, plus start swimming for shore immediately after jumping off in order to make it back across. Catherine also (after much persuasion) jumped off the rock and immediately swore she'd never do it again.
Happy water baby!
Since our neighborhood is super lame and there are never any kids home during the summer, we have to improvise. Our friends host a summer camp at their house every year called Camp Apple Juice. They have an amazing backyard with huge trees and a creek. They schedule a few activities (like a craft) each day, but most of the time the kids are just roaming free in the yard and woods. It's heaven!
One day he will regret these faces.
One day.
Elise wasn't actually able to attend camp since she isn't potty-trained, but I tried to stick around after drop-off for 30 minutes or so to let her play. She LOVED it! Next year, little one!
I wasn't sure how Aaron would do, but he had a blast! He loved swinging on this cool swing with Lauren. Myka (one of the counselors) told me that Aaron was one of her favorites. During snack time the other kids would eat and run, but Aaron and Luke would come sit at the table with the counselors and eat their snacks slowly and purposefully. Aaron was also deeply concerned after the first day that there was no apple juice at Camp Apple Juice, so Myka grabbed some for the next day. (The family's last name is Wine, but they thought Camp Wine would probably not be the best option for a kids camp. Thus, Apple Juice).
Catherine was fully in her element here. There were several other girls near her age that I thought she would play with, but, true to form, she was Miss Independent. She did spend a lot of time following Gabe & Seth around. She seems quite comfortable running with the boys.
The best part of camp was the toads. They were everywhere. Much of their time was spent catching toads and building habitats for them. There was also some toad-stealing from other groups of boys. It was pretty hilarious to look in their "habitat" (5 gallon bucket filled with moss, rocks and wood) and see it swarming with toads!
We LOVE Camp Apple Juice! Can't wait for next year when I can send all four kids!
And, finally, the new trampoline was assembled! Seth happened to be at a friend's house when I was ready to purchase one, so Catherine and Aaron got to choose the color. He's been much more accepting of the pinkish-purple than I expected. Now we need to buy more anchors to prevent having to buy trampoline #3!
